Latinx Files: De Los turns 1

This week marks the first anniversary of De Los, an initiative launched by the Los Angeles Times focused on telling Latinx stories in an effort to better reflect the city, region, state and country in which we live.

As the section’s editorial director, if forced to pick one thing that encapsulates what the last year has been like, it would be this Instagram post uploaded after the 2024 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. It features drag star Valentina, actor Helen Mirren and poet Yesika Salgado posing outside the green room of the Latinidad stage. This unlikely trio was brought together by the programming at said stage, which hosted two days of bilingual panels inspired by the coverage of the De Los team and our L.A. Times en Español colleagues. Valentina, whom we profiled in August 2023, and Salgado, who served as inaugural guest editor for our poetry series, were there for a discussion challenging the myth of the Latinx monolith. Mirren was present in support of her husband, Taylor Hackford, the director of “Blood In Blood Out,” who attended to promote a book by the same title about the making of the East L.A. cult classic.

Not pictured are the hundreds of people who attended both panels.

I love that Instagram post because I believe it highlights what we are trying to do at De Los, which is to document as many of our experiences as possible and foster a sense of community. I say that last part knowing fully well that “community” gets thrown out a lot when talking about Latinxs. It’s become an imperfect shorthand for a group of 65 million people with ill-defined ties, a concept that is aspirational at best and a fabrication meant to sell us things at worst — of these two, I choose to buy into the former.

The last year hasn’t been easy. In January, we lost core team members instrumental in building De Los in layoffs that affected the entire newsroom. Despite the heartbreak, the last 12 months have been rewarding. In that time, we published hundreds of stories that examine what it means to be a Latinx living in the United States. We’ve reported on our evolving relationship with religion and with the Spanish language. We’ve chronicled Latin music’s ongoing move to the center of the mainstream and the young U.S.-born artists who are making that reality happen. We’ve written about our histories, our hobbies, our growing diversity and our economic anxieties.

We’ve also aimed to be as collaborative as possible. We’ve partnered with youth organizations like Boyle Heights Beat and Las Fotos Project, and with young journalists at Cal State Long Beach and Cal State L.A. to get a more youthful perspective on Latinidad. Our social media game has been on point thanks in part to a handful of contributors who have helped us share a bigger slice of Latinx L.A.

Beyond our coverage, the De Los team has been out and about. In November, we commissioned a community altar for Hollywood Forever Cemetery’s annual Día y Noche de Muertos event where attendees could leave a message for a loved one who has died. In March, we organized a showcase at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas, that featured a slew of Latin music acts you’ll surely be hearing about in the coming years. On July 20, we’ll be co-presenting a free concert with Grand Performances in downtown L.A. headlined by Afro Cuban visionary Daymé Arocena, with DJ Wyldeflower and special guest Pan Dulce featuring Alan Lightner. (You can RSVP here. Come say hello.)

If it seems like De Los is trying to do the most, it’s because we are. Our small but mighty team is driven by a sense of urgency to paint as detailed a picture of who we are as possible because there’s still so much ground to cover. We also subscribe to the idea that you have to actively meet your audience where they are, whether it be out in the real world or on social media platforms.

None of this work would have been possible without the continued support of readers like you. If you’ve read and shared a De Los story or an Instagram post, thank you. If you’ve come out to one of our events, thank you. If you like what we’ve done so far, I encourage you to become an L.A. Times subscriber if you’re not one already.

Here’s to year two of De Los.

— Fidel Martinez

(Jackie Rivera / For The Times; Martina Ibáñez-Baldor / Los Angeles Times)

Stories we read this week that we think you should read

From the L.A. Times

With ‘God Said No,’ Omar Apollo bares it all

As his career has progressed, Omar Apollo has become more comfortable in his own skin. De Los contributor Lucas Villa sat down with the singer to discuss the singer’s self-proclaimed glamorous era, posing nude for artist Doron Langberg and chronicling his recent breakup in “God Said No,” his sophomore album.

Jenni Rivera’s and Selena Quintanilla’s Hollywood Walk of Fame stars vandalized twice in 24 hours

The Hollywood Walk of Fame stars of Jenni Rivera and Selena Quintanilla were vandalized with black paint twice earlier this week, causing uproar from fans online.

“My mother’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is a symbol of her incredible legacy and the impact she made on so many lives,” Jacqie Campos, Rivera’s second-oldest child, said in a statement to The Times. “Seeing it damaged not once, but twice, is heartbreaking and deeply disappointing.”

Remember this banger? The enduring charm of Luis Miguel’s ‘Ahora Te Puedes Marchar’

For the inaugural edition of “Remember this banger?”, a periodic series that revisits some of Latin music’s greatest hits, De Los contributor Eva Recinos transports readers back to 1987 by writing about Luis Miguel’s “Ahora Te Puedes Marchar.” The memorable hit is an acerbic cover of Dusty Springfield’s “I Only Want to Be With You.”

From elsewhere

After latest homeless count, officials cheered progress. But for many unhoused Latinos little has changed

Los Angeles’ unhoused population saw a 10% drop in the city’s most recent annual point-in-time count. This news is little comfort for unhoused Latinos, who remain the largest and fastest growing group falling into homelessness in the region. Leslie Berestein Rojas of LAist reports on the various factors contributing to that trend.

‘The ABCs of Lowriding’ takes readers through the world of lowrider culture

Ricardo Cortez makes the basics of lowriding kid-friendly in his latest children’s book, “The ABC’s of Lowriding.” According to Caló News, Cortez was inspired after wanting to share this subculture with his young children.

— Cerys Davies